This Week's Budweiser Chevrolet SS at Richmond International Raceway ... Kevin Harvick will pilot chassis No. 420 from the Richard Childress Racing NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stable in the Federated Auto Parts 400. Harvick most recently drove this Chevrolet to a seventh-place finish at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in July.
Old Dominion State Stats ... Since the 2001 season, Harvick has made 25 Sprint Cup Series starts at the 0.75-mile D-shaped oval. In those previous appearances, the California native has collected one pole award (September 2005), three victories (September 2006 and 2011, April 2013), seven top-five and 16 top-10 finishes. The RCR driver holds an average starting position of 16.5, an 11.3 average finishing position, has completed 98.8 percent (9,892 of 10,009) of the laps contested and has 945 laps led to his credit.
Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup ... Following a ninth-place finish at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Harvick secured a position in the 2013 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. The RCR driver currently sits third in the Sprint Cup Series driver championship point standings on the strength of two wins, six top-five and 13 top-10 finishes in 25 starts. The complete 12-driver field will be determined following this weekend's event at Richmond International Raceway and each driver's point total will be reset to 2,000. For those in the top 10, three bonus points are added to that total for each victory scored during the first 26 races of the season.
Here's Harvick ... Prior to the night race at Richmond International Raceway, Harvick is scheduled to visit the Team Chevy Stage for a fan question-and-answer session on Saturday, Sept. 7 from 4:30 to 4:45 p.m. Eastern Time.
Race Rewind ... Starting from the 13th position, Harvick and the No. 29 Budweiser team brought home a 10th-place finish in last year's rain-delayed Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond International Raceway.
KEVIN HARVICK QUOTES:
You won the last race at Richmond International Raceway earlier this season, are you excited to head back there before the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup begins?
"This little stretch leading up to the Chase (for the NASCAR Sprint Cup) for us is kind of a trial-and-error period as we go to different styles of race tracks and try different things. Obviously, we won the race at Richmond (International Raceway) earlier in the year on a crazy restart. We ran okay during the first half of the race and ran fairly good toward the end of the night, and one thing we have learned and try to remember about Richmond is that tires are king at that track. I'm hoping we can repeat the outcome we had there in the spring, but the big thing is making sure we can continue to learn things that will help us in the Chase."
Even though you have secured a position for yourself in The Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup going into the race at Richmond International Raceway, do you feel the pressure of others who are hoping to race their way into the Chase?
"We've been on that side of the fence as far as being in the position of trying to race your way into the Chase (for the NASCAR Sprint Cup), or racing to hold onto our position to get into the Chase. It's an intense race and portion of the season for sure. It's tough on your body, mind, team and everyone involved. You try to stay aware of what everyone else is doing, and you don't want to interfere with what others have going on because you don't want to be the one to change the outcome of things, but you always want to do the best for your team and make sure you're in the best position for yourself. It's definitely an interesting balance from a driver standpoint."